Le Rythme De la Nuit (La Tragédie Du Moulin à)
by KrazyRougeChic
Summary: Title Translation: The Rhythm Of The Night (The Tragedy Of The Windmill). This is a what happened afterwords account, begining with Christian watching Chocolat carry Satine's limp body away.
1. Le Prologue

No...dead. The word resonated in Christian's head like the reverb of a well-polished gun. He stood now, as they took his beloved Satine's body away, just staring. A tear-ridden figure stepped beside him, and the voice of Harold Zidler broke into Christian's reverie.   
"She did love you, Christian. She loved you with all she had inside of her." He said.  
Christian turned to look at him, eyes blurred from the tears he had yet to cry. "And I...I loved her so. But how...how could she have...died?" His voice faded out, threatening to crack.  
"Christian, Satine was...she was ill. She had consumption, lad. She knew she was dying. That's why she lied. That and...the accursed duke was going to kill you." Zidler stopped, pain in his eyes.  
"Kill me?" Christian asked. His head was spinning. So much had happened since the night before, when he'd held Satine in his arms and kissed her forehead. "I...I think I need some time." He murmured, turning to walk away, then passing out. 


	2. Vérité (Truth)

Through the fog in his mind, Christian heard someone talking. He could make out the words, but he could not place the voice.  
  
"He must never know, Toulouse. He can never know what really happened. It will kill him. He loved her, and he's better off like this. Thinking she's dead, the pain will cease. But the truth will drive him mad." The voice ended, and Christian's came out in a hoarse whisper.  
  
"Satine…Satine…" He groaned, longing for her to hold him, to tell him everything was well. He opened his eyes to see Toulouse and Zidler talking quietly. On the floor nearby, a familiar deep snore came from a lump, which Christian momentarily recognized as a narcoleptic Argentinean.  
  
Zidler turned to him, and his eyes shone with a familiar false light. "Christian!" He cried. "You're awake!"  
  
"Where's Satine?" He asked, his voice growing stronger. He sat up. "Where is she?"  
  
"Christian, Satine is dead." Toulouse answered. Christian saw that there were tears in his eyes.  
  
"No…no, it can't be." Christian answered. "I…I loved her, she can't be dead…no." He murmured, his thoughts incoherent.  
  
"Christian, I'm sorry, lad." Zidler said, the sadness in his voice unbecoming.  
  
The Argentinean awoke with a start. "What is happened?" He asked, his accent thick. He turned to Christian. "You've come to, my boy."  
  
Overcome by his feeling, Christian leapt from his- no, Satine's bed, and fled to the top of the elephant. Toulouse began to follow him, but was stopped by Zidler. "Let him go, Toulouse. Let him go."  
  
Atop the elephant, Christian was looking over all of Paris. What had once seemed so vibrant now seemed full of nothingness. How could someone so alive die? It just didn't make sense. He began to sing now, in a broken, cracked voice. "Come what… may. Come what may…I will love you. Until my dying…day." His voice dissolved into sobs, and he cried her name into the night. "Satine."  
  
In his mind, he heard her final words. "Tell our story, Christian. That way we'll always be together." And he heard her sing their song. "Listen to my heart, can you hear it sing? Come back to me and forgive everything." How awful he had been to her. Had she known? Had she known he did it only to assure himself that she loved him? God, he prayed so.  
  
Hearing a noise behind him, he turned to see the Argentinean approaching. He forced a quick, contorted smile. "Hello. This where we first fell in love, you know. I sang to her. She thought…" He stopped, and swallowed, the memories ripping into him. "She thought I was crazy, a fool to think love could triumph. If I had only listened to her…"  
  
"No!" The Argentinean cried. "Do not think of it. The woman loved you."  
  
"But what does it matter now!" He shouted. "She's dead!"  
  
"Is she?" Shouted the Argentinean in reply. "Is she dead?" He stopped, stunned by what he'd just done.  
  
"Of…of course she is. Isn't she?" He asked, pain in his eyes.  
  
The Argentinean opened his mouth to reply, but before he could form a word, he fell over backwards. Christian rushed down stairs to the bedroom where he found Toulouse alone, awaiting him. "She's alive?" He demanded.  
  
"Christian…no, Satine is dead." He answered, though something was definitely troubling him  
  
"You, with your talk of truth and beauty, of freedom, and even love!" Christian cried. "And yet you corrupt them all. You lie, you help Zidler to keep me in chains, and tear lovers apart!"  
  
"Christian, you are better off this way. Do not look to hard, or you may see things you are not meant to find."  
  
Toulouse's cryptic statement threw Christian into a rage. He sprung at the Bohemian, and choked him against a wall. "Where is Satine?" He said, each word dropping slowly in a tight, angry voice.  
  
"She's in Monmartyr!" Came a deep, accented voice from behind. Christian let Toulouse drop to the floor. "She is in a club called Le Rythme De la Nuit."  
  
"She's…alive. But…why?" He asked, turning to Toulouse, who now had stepped beside him.  
  
"Sit back, Christian, and I will tell you what has happened. Zidler had a backup plan all along, and it was why he allowed you two to stay together." Seeing Christian's surprise, he added "Yes, Christian, he knew all along. He saw things, heard things. He even went so far as to put an elixir into Satine's drink to make her cough blood. This convinced both the doctor and Marie that Satine was dying of consumption.  
  
"He then forced another of the Diamond Dogs, Mimi, who let out your secret to the duke, to tell Satine that you had been…sleeping with her. Zidler then convinced Satine to fake her death, and start over at Le Rythme." Toulouse finished his story, and Christian sank to the bed, awed. "The duke now owns the Moulin Rouge, but Zidler still has the Diamond Dogs, Le Rythme, and the Sparkling Diamond. Satine has got a new life, under the name of Sarah, The Shining Emerald." Toulouse added.  
  
"No…I will find her!" Christian said.  
  
"She thinks that you've betrayed her." Toulouse answered.  
  
"Go, boy! Win back your love!" The Argentinean cried. "Go and set things-" The voice broke off, and the Argentinean was once again unconscious.  
  
"Toulouse, I am going to Le Rythme De la Nuit. I will win her back!" Christian picked up his coat and left the elephant once more.  
  
  
  
Author's Note: Ok, so it's kind of cliché, but I did at least put a spin on it. I know that at first glance this is like a lot of other FanFics on Rouge, but as you read it, you will discover that it is not. Read on! ( 


	3. Beauté (Beauty)

Looking out the window of Le Rythme De la Nuit, a redheaded courtesan watched the wings of the Moulin Rouge turn. She quietly sang; giving voice to thoughts that welled up inside of her. "Never knew, I could feel like this. Like the world, has lost it's heart, and soul. Want to come back, and say to you, that everything is like it was before. Listen for my heart, and you'll hear it beat. Hoping that you'll find me here one day." Suddenly, she heard a scream, and recognized the voice. "Christian!" she said, startled. He was calling for her.  
  
Harold Zidler entered the room at that moment. "Ah, my pet, I'm so sorry for what's happened." He said.  
  
"He's calling for me, Harold. He loves me." She said.  
  
"Perhaps now, but you heard Mimi." He answered. His brilliant plan was teetering on the edge of collapse. "He betrayed you, sweetie. He never loved you."  
  
Satine's tears began to flow like they had ever since she'd realized what she had to do. "I…I still love him, no matter what he's done." She sighed in exasperation. "Am I mad, Harold?" She turned to the man she had once looked upon as a father.  
  
"No, Satine. You're not mad." He answered, shaking his head. He went to her and hugged her, drying her tears. "You're French. You couldn't help but be swept away by his sweet words. But now, you must take care of yourself. It's time for your number."  
  
Zidler left to let her finish changing, and she looked out her window a final time. She went onto the stage. Due to the smaller size of Le Rythme, Satine's numbers were less elaborate than the ones she'd done at the Moulin, but those were different times. Times before she'd known what love was. Satine finished her song in a blur, and left the stage. A moment later the Diamond Dogs were performing their can-can routine, and she didn't see the doors open and a well-known write walk in.  
  
Satine went up stairs to change and go home. Since Le Rythme was not equipped for living, Zidler and the rest of the Rouge company were staying in a slightly run-down hotel nearby. She went out the back door, since Le Rythme was only a few blocks up the street from the Moulin Rouge. If Christian or any of the Bohemians saw her…it would be disastrous, and she'd be right back in the hell she'd been in before last night. Or at least that was what she had tried to convince herself of.  
  
Since Satine used the back door, she didn't see a dark-haired writer, half- drunk from absinthe and half-drunk from the elation of knowing she was alive, walking in the door just after she left the stage. Zidler, though, did. He made a mental note to talk to Toulouse before the next night, when Satine was schedualed to sing Come What May as Sarah. He once more pondered the choice she'd made in songs as he herded her out the door.  
  
Author's Note: So, whatcha think? PLEASE REVIEW! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! Positive or negative, any comments are apprecieated. Please don't just say it sucks, tell me Iwhy/I and what I can do to make it better! All my works are constantly in progress! 


	4. Liberté (Freedom)

Christian went straight to Le Rythme De la Nuit, stopping only for a shot of absinthe. He reasoned that without it, he'd never find the courage to do what must be done. He entered Le Rythme, and to his dismay, Satine was nowhere to be seen. He considered confronting that fat pimp, Harold Zidler, but that would only lead to more lies. He needed to get to Satine. He knew he could reason with her. He made his way to the bar, and ordered a shot of absinthe.  
  
"Lonely?" Asked a woman behind him whom he recognized as Nini, the Diamond Dog. He turned around, and she gasped when she saw his face. "Why, Christian, it's a little soon for you to be on the town, isn't it?" She asked. Never one to strike woman he turned back to his absinthe.  
  
"You whore!" He cried, sweeping the glass off of the counter. The crowd got silent, and the band ceased to play. Zidler, beside the stage, stared at the spectacle. What could he do now? He was going to loose Satine. Mimi, or another of the courtesans, would tell her Christian was here, and she would leave Le Rythme forever.  
  
Christian stepped toward Mimi. "Where is she?" He demanded. "Where is Satine?"  
  
"She's dead, fool!" She answered. Zidler gasped. How did Christian know? He made his way across to where Christian was stepping closer and closer to the endangered dancer. "Christian, lad, I understand. It's hard to accept that the woman you love is dead. Let Mimi here drown you troubles. It's on the house." Zidler said, hoping that Christian would accept. To arrange for Satine to walk in on Christian with Mimi would secure his future.  
  
"No. I want to see Satine!" Christian shouted, oblivious to the crowd that was watching him intently.  
  
"She's dead, lad!" Zidler said. A moment later, Christian's fist struck the club owner's face. He left Le Rythme. Outside, he glanced at a sign. Satine- no, Sarah, was schedualed to perform again the next night. The next line, though, nearly knocked him over. "Watch as the Shining Emerald performs the smash hit Come What May from the musical 'Spectacular Spectacular'."  
  
Christian stumbled home. He sat in the darkness a moment, then, not caring to sleep, he walked up to Toulouse's studio. The noises from inside indicated Toulouse had brought a 'friend' home, and Christian knocked loudly. A few moments later Toulouse answered the door, looking fatigued and as though he had dressed hurriedly. Seeing Christian, he stepped outside, rather than inviting him in.  
  
"What is it, Christian?" Toulouse asked, concerned for his friend.  
  
"I…I went to Le Rythme. I didn't see Satine anywhere, but…Nini Legs-In-The- Air hit on me. I was at the bar, and she didn't recognize me, but then I turned around, and there was a scene. Zidler saw me!" Christian blurted out in gush.  
  
"Zidler?" Toulouse exclaimed.  
  
"Yes. What do I do now?" He asked.  
  
"She is performing again tomorrow, yes?" Toulouse asked.  
  
"Well…yes, that's just it. She's singing Come What May." Christian answered. He was glad for the older man's guidance. Toulouse had been around courtesans long enough to know what he should do now. Toulouse, of course, came up with a plan that they could execute the next night, but it would require some help from Arubia, another of the Diamond Dogs. Christian knew she would never defy Nini, and he told Toulouse that.  
  
"Perhaps not for Ifree,/I Christian." Toulouse answered, eyeing Christian's pocket where the money from the pawn shop was.  
  
"Toulouse, that's my typewriter!" Christian cried. "I can't use it to hire a whore!"  
  
"Then you will lose her." Toulouse answered. Christian knew the artist was right. Besides, if it reunited him with Satine, he need never write again. He handed Toulouse the money to take to Arubia. Christian could not set foot in Le Rythme again until that night. He returned to his room and tried to sleep. He tossed and turned all night. Then, as the first rays of the Parisian sun began to cast light upon the city, Christian was struck from nowhere with musical inspiration. He sprang from his bed and lit a candle. He then sat to his desk and wrote the song that manifested in his head.  
  
The sun was high over the Eiffel Tower when Toulouse returned. When Christian answered his knock, Toulouse blurted "She'll do it." And handed Christian a wad of bills. Christian counted the money.  
  
"What's this?" He asked.  
  
"She gave us a discount." Toulouse answered. "In the name of love."  
  
"But she only charged 100 francs!" Christian said, puzzled.  
  
"Actually, it was only 75." Toulouse answered, holding up a bottle of absinthe. Christian laughed, and they drank merrily, awaiting sunset. 


	5. Amour (Love)

Satine slept soundly that night, not knowing of her beloved's encounter at Le Rythme. She awoke refreshed for a new day, but saddened that it would not include Christian.  
  
Around noon, Zidler came into Satine's room. "Ah, my pet, as lovely as ever!" He said. "Madam Marie is nowhere to be found. Arubia will be helping you get ready." He said, motioning to the dark-skinned courtesan behind him.  
  
"Lovely, Harold." Satine said sincerely, smiling at the younger girl- who was meant to be her protégé and eventual replacement –before turning to look out at the spinning wings of the Rouge. She stood up and walked across to sit on her bed.  
  
"Also, about your choice of song…" He began delicately. He'd tried to dissuade her before, fearing the song could make her miss Christian again, but it hadn't worked so far.  
  
"Oh, Harold, I meant to tell you, I've decided to change that. It'll be the same melody, but I for one have had enough of those silly love songs. I rewrote the lyrics." Satine went on to outline the changes she would make.  
  
After Zidler had approved the changes, he left so that the courtesans could get further acquainted before it was time to get ready. Arubia looked around carefully before she spoke quietly. "Mademoiselle, I've news of your writer!" She said in careful French. Born in Morocco, Arubia had only six months ago moved to Monmartre, and had learned quite quickly.  
  
"My wri- Christian?" Satine asked, surprised.  
  
"Yes, Christian. He was here last night." Arubia was whispering now so that neither Zidler, Nini, nor Chocolat could hear her.  
  
"Here?" Satine was alarmed. "In Le Rythme?"  
  
"Oui!" Here a tentative pause came from the darker woman. "He was demanding to see you."  
  
"See me?" Satine's crystal blue eyes grew larger with surprise and concern. Could Christian know? Or had he gone mad?  
  
"Oui! He was quite persistent." Arubia answered. She told her new friend of the encounter, having to stop when Chocolat brought supper. After Arubia's account of Christian's activities, Satine asked the question that was weighing heavily on her mind.  
  
"Do you think he knew I was alive?" Satine asked. She assumed that the silence before the answer was Arubia discerning the truth.  
  
In reality, Arubia was judging Satine's reaction. Seeing no evidence as to how she felt, Arubia shook her head. "I doubt it, Mademoiselle. The boy was likely mad with grief."  
  
Satine's face smiled as her heart fell. "Well, thank you for telling me." She slid into her smooth persona. "But since the young writer doesn't know of my life her, I doubt he'll be a problem. Arubia nodded and the two set about preparing for Satine's performance. 


	6. La plus grande chose que vous apprendrez...

Satine stood on the stage. This was perhaps her least elaborate routine ever, but her most heartfelt.  
  
"Never knew, I could feel like this. Like the world had lost its heart & soul. Want to come back, and find that now, everything is like it was before…"  
  
Harold Zidler was watching with surprise. Changes hat been made, that was certain, but not the ones he'd been advised of.  
  
"Listen for my heart and you'll hear it beat. Knowing that you'll find me here one day."  
  
Arubia and Nini, with the other Diamond Dogs, were watching. Arubia was nearly crying, for the song touched her. Nini, however, was watching in disgust. Satine had never been one to…feel emotions before!  
  
"And there's no moon in the sky, no star shining bright. I sing out this song as you're there by yourself. Storm-clouds have gathered and stars will collide, but I miss you, until the end of time."  
  
Zidler realized what Satine had done. In hhis own style, she'd manipulated into telling the band that she'd be singing alternate lyrics.  
  
"Come what may! Come what may! I will love you until my dying day."  
  
In fact, Zidler was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he never saw a raven- hair writer enter the back. Arubia nodded to the lights crew to set the plan in motion… 


	7. Est juste pour aimer et être a aimé dans...

The spotlight shifted from the courtesan to Christian, who stood at the back and began to sing.  
  
"Suddenly the world, seems such a perfect place. Suddenly now, I've seen an angel's place. Suddenly I'm wrapped up inside of your grace, except that I'm without you."  
  
Satine's heart leapt. He loved her! Then she remembered herself and regained her composure. She sang her answer."If foundations made of stone can turn to dust, then the hardest hearts of steel can turn to rust."  
  
Christian, ready for the rubutal, sang back. "You need someone like me, who'll love you endlessly!"  
  
"What part of no don't you understand? I don't mean to be so mean, I don't think I'm getting through."  
  
"I wanna be with you. There's nothing more to say! There's nothing else I want more than to feel this way!"  
  
"Selfish!"  
  
"All I want is your love."  
  
"Hopeless!"  
  
"Cuz' I'm hopelessly in love!"  
  
"You'll never be perfect!"  
  
"Anybody perfect must be lying! Tell me what can I do, to prove that I'm the only one for you?"  
  
"You could resurrect a thousand words to deceive me more and more, A thousand words will give the reasons why I don't need you anymore."  
  
"Baby, please don't turn your back and just pretend."  
  
"Don't call me baby, baby just because you can."  
  
"Let me love you for a day. Let me have you for a night. Let me take you far away into forever!"  
  
"Jezabel, kiss and tell. I use my body just to cast my spell!"  
  
"When we met light was shed. Thoughts free flow you said you've got something, deep inside of you."  
  
"You can try to figure out, why you mean nothing, to me now. But you might, just as well go and spit in the rain."  
  
Christian had had enough. He sang out spontaneously. He had planned to sing the song he wrote that morning to her once he'd won her back and had her alone, but he could no longer contain himself.  
  
"Don't the hours grow shorter as the days go by  
  
You never get to stop and open our eyes  
  
One minute you're waiting for the sky to fall  
  
The next you're dazzled by the beauty of it all  
  
Lovers in a dangerous time  
  
Lovers in a dangerous time  
  
These fragile bodies of touch and taste  
  
This fragrant skin this hair like lace  
  
Spirits open to the thrust of grace  
  
Never a breath you can afford to waste  
  
Lovers in a dangerous time  
  
Lovers in a dangerous time  
  
Lovers in a dangerous time  
  
Lovers in a dangerous time  
  
Lovers in a dangerous time  
  
When you're lovers in a dangerous time  
  
Sometimes you're made to feel as if your love's a crime  
  
Looking over your shoulder all the time,  
  
Watching as your eyes look into mine.  
  
Nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight  
  
Got to kick at the darkness 'til it bleeds daylight  
  
When you're lovers in a dangerous time  
  
Lovers in a dangerous time  
  
Lovers in a dangerous time  
  
Lovers in a dangerous time  
  
Lovers in a dangerous time  
  
We were lovers in a dangerous time!  
  
We were lovers in a dangerous time!"  
  
As he sang the final note, their eyes met and Satine ran down the stairs of the stage and went to him. The kiss that followed was more passionate, more pure, more true, than any kiss before or since. It was a kiss in which he lay his hands gently upon her sides as she clung vigorously to his neck. It was a kiss where the sounds of their love drowned out the cheers of the forgotten audience, who thought this was all an act.  
  
When finally they broke apart, Satine spoke quietly to him. "I love you. I don't care what you've done."  
  
"Wha- what I've done?" Christian asked, puzzled.  
  
"Yes, love. Nini told me, but I don't care anymore. I know you love me. And I'm ready to leave Zidler, Le Rythme, and Monmartre behind!"  
  
"Satine, that was all a lie! I never slept with Nini. Zidler made her lie."  
  
"Harold!" In their rapture, the lovers had completely forgotten about him. Not they turned to where he was standing.  
  
"Chickpea, it was all for your own good." Zidler said.  
  
"No, Harold, it was for your own good. I'm leaving Monmartre. I don't know where we'll go or what we'll do, but I won't live alife without love anymore."  
  
Zidler looked at the beautiful woman, a defeated expression on his round face. He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a pocket watch and some money. He handed them to her. "Go then. I can't keep you here anymore. You were right the other night. I have made you believe you were only worth what someone would pay. I was afraid of losing you, so I kept you caged. Fly away, Satine."  
  
As they turned to go, Arubia ran from her place beside Nini. "Bring me, Mademoiselle!" Satine turned. "Please, do no leave me here."  
  
"Christian, this is Arubia." Satine said, grinning at her friend.  
  
"Yes, I believe you know my friend Toulouse." Christian answered, smiling.  
  
"Oui, Monsieur. He came to see me yesterday. He asked my help." Arubia said.  
  
Satine suddenly figured out what had been happening, and laughed. "Christian, let her come with us, wherever we go."  
  
"I wouldn't dream of doing otherwise!" Christian grinned, and the three turned to leave. As he walked out, Christian's arm was caught by Zidler.  
  
"You take care of them, boy." Zidler said cruelly.  
  
"I will, Monsieur Zidler. Good day!" Christian said, tipping his hat and jogging after his beloved. 


	8. L'Epilouge

Satine and Christian lived a long and happy life side by side. They returned to London with the money he had and what she'd gotten from Zidler. Christian's father saw that they were properly married, and they lived on good terms with him for six lovely years until he passed on. Christian and Satine had three lovely children, two sons named Christopher and Henri, and a beautiful daughter named Silke who had bright blue eyes and flaming red hair.  
  
Henri Ramon de Toulouse Leatrec went on to paint many posters around Paris, but never would he find that love he'd often longed for. The Argentinean lived a bohemian life. The two were both killed in a tragic accident in a Monmartre nightclub many years later.  
  
Arubia lived happily in London, where she married a rich young man named Charles who loved her with all his heart. Their son later married Silke.  
  
Harold Zidler died just two years after Satine left, and Marie only a month later. The rest of the Diamond Dogs were forced to find other places to work. Nini was the only one who never did. She worked on a street corner for three years afterwords.  
  
Chocolat searched Satine out after Zidler's death, and worked for many years as a manservant for she and Christian.  
  
And as for the duke, while nothing would give me greater pleasure than to tell you that he lived a long, lonely life and died a painful death, he didn't. The loss of Satine made his change. He married a woman who was more lovely inside than out, and had a daughter named Violet, who would later marry Henri, much to his well-intentioned parents' dismay.  
  
Christopher became a writer and wrote the story of his parents love. He went to Paris at 21 years of age, and fell in love with- that's right, a courtesan. But that's another story. Isn't it?  
  
BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR BRBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBRBR BRBRWhile the actual text of this story was written by me and is copywritten to me, the characters are not. The geniuses Craig Pearce and Baz Luhrmann co-wrote this beautiful story of truth, beauty, freedom, and above all things, love. 


End file.
